By Isaac Seelochan
Tributes are being paid to the secretary of a grassroots Notts football club who died suddenly last month.
Ged Law, 63, had been involved with Southwell City FC for a decade, and was well-known in the local football community.
The father-of-two died on Sunday, January 17 after collapsing during a daily walk with his wife Helen.
He had lived in Southwell since his early thirties having been born in Dundee, Scotland. Several other local clubs have also posted tributes online since his death.
Ged worked for a sign-making business and first got involved with Southwell City when his son Calum began playing for them as a junior.
Calum, now 24, is now a student studying PE and Coaching Science at Bishop Grosseteste University in Lincoln.
He said: “My dad was one of the good guys.
“Whenever you walked into the room with him there was always a good vibe and you knew there was going to be a laugh.
“He was someone who would give his all for both his work and Southwell City and he would never want to make a fuss about what he did.
“He has taught me to be strong and I am incredibly proud of my dad – what is our loss is heaven’s gain.
“I’ll never forget him and I love him endlessly.”
Ged’s first involvement at the club was as reserve team manager – a role which saw him manage Calum when he was in his late teens.
Calum added: “Obviously it was great playing under my dad, but we had our highest finish in years and we also reached the semi-final finals of the cup in 2016 for the first time since the mid-2000s.
“My dad was an advocate for simple, but effective football by getting the ball out wide, crossing it in and working hard off the ball.
“There were a lot of the lads he brought in who had maybe lost interest in football but he brought their enjoyment back for it.
“People have told me they enjoyed playing under my Dad and talking to him about football.
Despite Calum now playing for Radford FC, Ged’s passion for Southwell City meant he continued to volunteer for the club.
Ged’s role as secretary involved him contacting the referees and opposition teams to organise fixtures as well as other admin duties such as organising team sheets.
Jonny Upton, 31, is the current manager of Southwell City FC and worked closely with Ged.
He said: “Even though Callum had moved on to a higher club in the pyramid, Ged insisted on continuing, which speaks volumes.
“He was one of the nicest blokes you could meet, and he would often do jobs around the club which others wouldn’t.
“For example, he always used to do pitch inspections and if you asked him to get out of bed to do it he probably would. He did all the signs about covid around the club for free and was just a massive help to us all.
“He will no doubt be having a can of beer and a cigar looking down on us.”
John Cunningham, 57, is the club chair.
He said: “I’ve only known Ged for the couple of years since I became club chair, but he was one of those guys who would do anything for you and the club.
“A very generous soul is probably the best way to describe him.
“What I’ll miss most is spending a Saturday watching the game with him and talking about the match.
“He went to most home games and was a constant person at the ground – It’s a sad loss because he was such a nice guy.”
Calum’s University football society is planning on running 200 miles within a week to raise money for the Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire Air Ambulance Charitable Trust who tried to save Ged’s life.
